Yes, obviously. But...
Would Alli behave and be professional if he was dropped to the bench? I have my doubts.
I think the answer is not as straighforward as you think. See Walker when he was dropped a few games. We don't pay them enough to be happy to as a sub. I don't know who would I sell if we manage to get an upgrade on him. I think the foreign quota that Hercules mentioned would be a important factor, but it's not an easy decision imo.
For example say we bring back Bale, or Isco. Alli will want to leave in the next 6 months for a team that plays him or at least pays him double. Lamela won't have a problem

Well-Known Member

Yes, obviously. But...
Would Alli behave and be professional if he was dropped to the bench? I have my doubts.
I think the answer is not as straighforward as you think. See Walker when he was dropped a few games. We don't pay them enough to be happy to as a sub. I don't know who would I sell if we manage to get an upgrade on him. I think the foreign quota that Hercules mentioned would be a important factor, but it's not an easy decision imo.
For example say be bring back Bale, or Isco. Alli will want to leave in the next 6 months for a team that plays him or at least pays him double. Lamela won't have a problem

Happy Clapper

First, no one cares if you like Lamela or not. If you feel you're giving out a fair and balanced opinion, then you don't need to try to prove it or whatever by saying how much you like the player you're about to shit all over.

Firstly, this is incredibly rude for no real reason. People feel the need to state they like Lamela before posts in this thread because any criticism of him is passed off as being "a Lamela hater" and will subsequently receive the treatment that crime recieves in this thread

Third, clearly Lamela gives us more than just "being committed". Our pressing game, whenever we adopt it, is usually commanded by both him and Dembele. Without him we're not that good at pressing teams, and it's probably one of the main reasons we failed to give Chelsea a proper title challenge last season (the other being that amazing run Chelsea went in at the middle of the season). Besides that, he's probably our best creative passer behind Eriksen. He has created quite a lot of goal scoring opportunities since he has been with us. How do you translate that to him offering nothing else besides "being committed"?

ourth, If you want to clear some space to bring Malcom in, then there are a few players which are way more expendable than Lamela (Sissoko, Llorente and Winks rapidly come to mind). In fact, maybe even Son should be considered of being let go before Lamela (considering his obligations to serve on is nations army).

Son doesn't have to do his military service until he's 35 so that's not a problem, and that's even working on the assumption that Korea think it's beneficial to send their national superstar to fuck around on a military base for 2 years of his already short career. There is no argument for keeping Lamela over son, son is a key part of this team, Lamela is a useful backup.

Fifth, Lamela already has given a couple of MotMish performances since returning from injury, and one of them was away at Juve at the CL. If you really want to get rid of that in favor of Malcom, then you better hope that Malcom be as good as, I dunno, Rivaldo or AVB's Bale. If not, then its a move that really wouldn't make that much sense.

Let's not get any more revisionist then this post has already been, Lamela was nowhere near motm against Juve. He played decently but how does that translate to "Motmish". Looking back at the ratings thread, 2.6% voted from him so looks like your on your own there, apart from the 11 other members of the Lamela Fan club.

This is what annoys me about the Lamela debate. Both sides are so prone to over-exaggeration that the actual debate gets lost. He's a good player, with positive attributes, but ultimately he's 4th, soon to be 5th choice attacking mid and whilst I wouldn't have a problem with him staying, he shouldn't be on the pedistal some put him on.

Well-Known Member

Firstly, this is incredibly rude for no real reason. People feel the need to state they like Lamela before posts in this thread because any criticism of him is passed off as being "a Lamela hater" and will subsequently receive the treatment that crime recieves in this thread

Lamela was not "essential" in that season, he played a decent role but essential is a ridiculous over exaggeration. Toby and Kane were essential that season, not Lamela.

Don't disagree with any of this too much apart from Lamela being a main reason Chelsea won the league.

Son doesn't have to do his military service until he's 35 so that's not a problem, and that's even working on the assumption that Korea think it's beneficial to send their national superstar to fuck around on a military base for 2 years of his already short career. There is no argument for keeping Lamela over son, son is a key part of this team, Lamela is a useful backup.

Let's not get any more revisionist then this post has already been, Lamela was nowhere near motm against Juve. He played decently but how does that translate to "Motmish". Looking back at the ratings thread, 2.6% voted from him so looks like your on your own there, apart from the 11 other members of the Lamela Fan club.

This is what annoys me about the Lamela debate. Both sides are so prone to over-exaggeration that the actual debate gets lost. He's a good player, with positive attributes, but ultimately he's 4th, soon to be 5th choice attacking mid and whilst I wouldn't have a problem with him staying, he shouldn't be on the pedistal some put him on.

Well-Known Member

What the hell has malcom done to come out with such am arrogant response? he's a total unknown quality, and he's playing in a shite league. In which his stats aren't any more impressive than Dele who is of similar age and Dele is being crucified each week.
Frankly the kid could be total trash in the Premier League were as our manager routinely involves Lamela in games over lucas, Son and Sissoko . Has he even failed to not come on as at least a sub since returning

You're probably one of the jokers who were crowing in the summer about Aurier being an upgrade on Walker without having seen him play more than 3 games.
French league isn't even broadcast anywhere here so unless you're going out of your way to find obscure bordeux streams which likely clash with our matches, then rating malcom as superior to anyone In our squad is frankly bullshit
You might as well just be looking at his fifa stats and saying oh, well he must be better. He's 84 and lamela is 81

I know that's what people say but I can't find a source for that and wiki says 35. Maybe you're right, I'd be lying if I said I had an extensive knowledge of the South Korean conscription system.

Anyway I don't think it matters as South Korea would be crazy not to think of some way to make an exception, it literally makes no sense for them. I'm pretty sure that if he did it at 28 then he wouldn't be able to play at the 2022 World Cup which would not go down well with the public I'd guess.

Well-Known Member

Lamela --- strong mentality for the collective (something Poch values), confidence in the collective (remember the Danny Rose dinner discussion with Lamela), pressing is key (see Verts comments about Lamela and how we aren't the same team without him), good technical ability.

Now, the reality is that he is far away from his best but that is not a surprise after the lay off.

My take - Poch will keep him.

IF we want a Poch size squad the out goings will be less than people think. Sissoko, Janssen and GKN will go but only one impacts the squad size. The 1-1 will hopefully see Sessegnon in.

Then it will be a question of which of these 3 leaves: Rose, Llorente and Toby. If they all stay, Poch will probably be happy with the group and maybe want to add 1 more player. Otherwise, 1-1 switch is my thought.

Well-Known Member

Lamela is like Modric, only an AM as opposed to a CM. He doesn't get the statistics others do- Luka never did either- yet he is such a vital player for us when he's out there. He is just so relentless, such a warrior, so hateable- which is why I love him. He engenders a level of antipathy from opposing fans (and opposing players) that borders on the psychotic. He gets under the opposition's skin like no one else I've ever seen that plays for us. He rattles them. I mean, here's this pretty boy- one who can do all sorts of fancy-Dan tricks- flying into tackles, pressing like he's a magnet and the other team's players are made of metal, and just generally being this unpredictable, dangerous nuisance of a player.

When you add to that the fact that he might be the best passer on the team (or if he's not, he's second only to Eriksen), that he's incredibly unpredictable offensively (one never knows if he's going to bomb forward, or hit the breaks and thread a through ball, or stop on a dime and turn and move- forcing a foul, or pass diagonally to someone cutting in, or play keep ball followed by a 1-2 with Kane, Alli, Eriksen, etc.)-- I mean the guy is just a straight up fucking terror.

He never shirks from a challenge, never backs down, never plays scared. As a matter of fact, sometimes I feel as if he has an extra gear that others don't; indeed, occasionally it seems as if he's taunting the opposing player because he knows he's so much more talented than they are...

I just don't get how you can watch Lamela play and not love him. He looks so soft and yet he's so fucking hard. The guy has no fear. I'll say it again: the guy's a straight-up warrior. I would be distraught if he left us, particularly because his best years lie straight ahead.

Players like him- guys dripping with natural talent yet who have that much fight/ferocity/desire to get stuck-in- are truly rare. We have one. We would be stupid to let him go.

Well-Known Member

I know that's what people say but I can't find a source for that and wiki says 35. Maybe you're right, I'd be lying if I said I had an extensive knowledge of the South Korean conscription system.

Anyway I don't think it matters as South Korea would be crazy not to think of some way to make an exception, it literally makes no sense for them. I'm pretty sure that if he did it at 28 then he wouldn't be able to play at the 2022 World Cup which would not go down well with the public I'd guess.

AVB's greatest fan of all times

Firstly, this is incredibly rude for no real reason. People feel the need to state they like Lamela before posts in this thread because any criticism of him is passed off as being "a Lamela hater" and will subsequently receive the treatment that crime recieves in this thread

Is it a ridiculous over exaggeration just because you say so or do you have any meaningful arguments to back that up? My arguments to say that it's not an exaggeration of any kind would be his great offensive production that season (reflected on his stats), and how he played a very important and central role in some of our most diffuclt games of that season (like against both mancs), the sort of wins that give a team character, you know?

Son doesn't have to do his military service until he's 35 so that's not a problem, and that's even working on the assumption that Korea think it's beneficial to send their national superstar to fuck around on a military base for 2 years of his already short career. There is no argument for keeping Lamela over son, son is a key part of this team, Lamela is a useful backup.

Let's not get any more revisionist then this post has already been, Lamela was nowhere near motm against Juve. He played decently but how does that translate to "Motmish". Looking back at the ratings thread, 2.6% voted from him so looks like your on your own there, apart from the 11 other members of the Lamela Fan club.

This is what annoys me about the Lamela debate. Both sides are so prone to over-exaggeration that the actual debate gets lost. He's a good player, with positive attributes, but ultimately he's 4th, soon to be 5th choice attacking mid and whilst I wouldn't have a problem with him staying, he shouldn't be on the pedistal some put him on.

Well-Known Member

Yes, obviously. But...
Would Alli behave and be professional if he was dropped to the bench? I have my doubts.
I think the answer is not as straighforward as you think. See Walker when he was dropped a few games. We don't pay them enough to be happy to as a sub. I don't know who would I sell if we manage to get an upgrade on him. I think the foreign quota that Hercules mentioned would be a important factor, but it's not an easy decision imo.
For example say we bring back Bale, or Isco. Alli will want to leave in the next 6 months for a team that plays him or at least pays him double. Lamela won't have a problem

I don’t think we should be looking to retain players because they are happy to be on the bench. I don’t want Walker types who aren’t happy to fight for their places, we need more players like Son who will fight for their place. If we aspire to compete with the best that is what we need to aim for.

Well-Known Member

I don’t think we should be looking to retain players because they are happy to be on the bench. I don’t want Walker types who aren’t happy to fight for their places, we need more players like Son who will fight for their place. If we aspire to compete with the best that is what we need to aim for.

Well-Known Assembler

When you add to that the fact that he might be the best passer on the team (or if he's not, he's second only to Eriksen), that he's incredibly unpredictable offensively (one never knows if he's going to bomb forward, or hit the breaks and thread a through ball, or stop on a dime and turn and move- forcing a foul, or pass diagonally to someone cutting in, or play keep ball followed by a 1-2 with Kane, Alli, Eriksen, etc.)-- I mean the guy is just a straight up fucking terror.

I agree with almost every point you stated - and i want to add, that I think that the fact he's so unpredictable is also a negative - sometimes he has ideas that no team mate is aware of, trough passes that seems impossible so no one is expecting it.

Eriksen is so important for our play, because he's been the heartbeat of it in the last 3-4 seasons - the players around know him and he knows them.

Lamela is the perfect mixture of fighting, creative spark and unpredictable for defenders. What he's lacking is end product.

To finish with Columbo - one last thing - His delivery from corners have been so much better than Eriksens (i really love Eriksen, but some set-pieces in the last 1-2 years really left me wondering how someone so good can deliver the ball that badly...)

Well-Known Member

Lamela is like Modric, only an AM as opposed to a CM. He doesn't get the statistics others do- Luka never did either- yet he is such a vital player for us when he's out there. He is just so relentless, such a warrior, so hateable- which is why I love him. He engenders a level of antipathy from opposing fans (and opposing players) that borders on the psychotic. He gets under the opposition's skin like no one else I've ever seen that plays for us. He rattles them. I mean, here's this pretty boy- one who can do all sorts of fancy-Dan tricks- flying into tackles, pressing like he's a magnet and the other team's players are made of metal, and just generally being this unpredictable, dangerous nuisance of a player.

When you add to that the fact that he might be the best passer on the team (or if he's not, he's second only to Eriksen), that he's incredibly unpredictable offensively (one never knows if he's going to bomb forward, or hit the breaks and thread a through ball, or stop on a dime and turn and move- forcing a foul, or pass diagonally to someone cutting in, or play keep ball followed by a 1-2 with Kane, Alli, Eriksen, etc.)-- I mean the guy is just a straight up fucking terror.

He never shirks from a challenge, never backs down, never plays scared. As a matter of fact, sometimes I feel as if he has an extra gear that others don't; indeed, occasionally it seems as if he's taunting the opposing player because he knows he's so much more talented than they are...

I just don't get how you can watch Lamela play and not love him. He looks so soft and yet he's so fucking hard. The guy has no fear. I'll say it again: the guy's a straight-up warrior. I would be distraught if he left us, particularly because his best years lie straight ahead.

Players like him- guys dripping with natural talent yet who have that much fight/ferocity/desire to get stuck-in- are truly rare. We have one. We would be stupid to let him go.

Well-Known Member

Promised myself I wouldn't get involved in this bipolar thread again, but I'll bite.

Lamela is a good player, skilful, incredibly tenacious off the ball and offers something different. Namely the ability around the box to play clever passes into the front man. I wouldn't want to sell him unless we were getting someone appreciatively better. However, he doesn't use these attributes nearly often enough. His decision making is suspect imo and he more often flatters to deceive with the ball and lacks the end product his talent should bring.

Put it this way, even though he's only had a handful of appearances I feel Moura has more chance of coming off the bench and making a match winning/saving contribution than Lamela. I thought it Wednesday night, and I still think it today.

As for comparisons with Dele, he is not the same player this season in front of goal, but has shown over the past two seasons he has it in his locker, where as Lamela has never really shown that in his Spurs career (even though injuries have obviously played there part). I don't think Dele should be undroppable and earlier in the season his all round game was poor, but he's stepped that up recently and the only thing lacking is regaining his confidence in front of goal. I can see why Poch perseveres with him, even though he's probably the most vulnerable of the attacking players right now in terms of his place in the team.

And the argument Lamela's injury is the main reason Chelsea won the league instead of us is nonsense. In Lamela's best period for Spurs at the start of that season we were still drawing too many games and bombed out of the CL. Meanwhile Chelsea were embarking on a 13 winning streak which all meant we were left with too much to do, combined with Chelsea having no European competitions to distract them and virtually no injuries. Nothing to do with Lamela. In fact, after his absence we got to an FA Cup semi final and accumulated more points per game in the PL.

Well-Known Member

Moura Lamela Dele Son Eriksen what a choice that is we've certainly come a long way.

All have their abilities, competition, form game situations will determine choice for starts and who can come on in game situation, all will have a part to play going forward. You have to agree we are assembling a fantastic squad. It's going to be very hard to improve on that without spending x millions and tbh at this moment we really don't have to do much other than allowing the squad to mature

I'm not worried about us going forward, though defensively at full back especially since ROSE and WALKER went AWOL, it 's an area we can improve on (I believe Auria and Walker-Philips is our best bets going forward on the right not a fan of Trippier i'm affaird ) if Rose wants out Sessegnon is a potential replacement another dynamic Central midfield player is needed and I am hoping Onomah is that man if not someone else

Active Member

Lamela is like Modric, only an AM as opposed to a CM. He doesn't get the statistics others do- Luka never did either- yet he is such a vital player for us when he's out there. He is just so relentless, such a warrior, so hateable- which is why I love him. He engenders a level of antipathy from opposing fans (and opposing players) that borders on the psychotic. He gets under the opposition's skin like no one else I've ever seen that plays for us. He rattles them. I mean, here's this pretty boy- one who can do all sorts of fancy-Dan tricks- flying into tackles, pressing like he's a magnet and the other team's players are made of metal, and just generally being this unpredictable, dangerous nuisance of a player.

When you add to that the fact that he might be the best passer on the team (or if he's not, he's second only to Eriksen), that he's incredibly unpredictable offensively (one never knows if he's going to bomb forward, or hit the breaks and thread a through ball, or stop on a dime and turn and move- forcing a foul, or pass diagonally to someone cutting in, or play keep ball followed by a 1-2 with Kane, Alli, Eriksen, etc.)-- I mean the guy is just a straight up fucking terror.

He never shirks from a challenge, never backs down, never plays scared. As a matter of fact, sometimes I feel as if he has an extra gear that others don't; indeed, occasionally it seems as if he's taunting the opposing player because he knows he's so much more talented than they are...

I just don't get how you can watch Lamela play and not love him. He looks so soft and yet he's so fucking hard. The guy has no fear. I'll say it again: the guy's a straight-up warrior. I would be distraught if he left us, particularly because his best years lie straight ahead.

Players like him- guys dripping with natural talent yet who have that much fight/ferocity/desire to get stuck-in- are truly rare. We have one. We would be stupid to let him go.

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